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Last night I was getting out of the shower, minding my own business, when I was struck by a realization, the implications of which I am still reeling from.
Bakugo and Monoma are really. Stinkin. Similar. So much so that I'm starting to wonder if it was intentional. Did Horikoshi create Monoma because he wanted Bakugo to have a counterpart in 1B?
Let's start with the most obvious similarity: they're both blond. This doesn't really mean anything but I thought I'd mention it anyway.
Next, their personas. Sure, there are distinctions: Bakugo favors violence and profanity, while Monoma tends more towards mocking and belittlement. But the overall effect is the same: they're not exactly "nice." As for Bakugo's superiority complex, Monoma's obsession with 1B being better than 1A could definitely be the same issue, just presenting differently.
"But Goose," you say, "Bakugo is clearly a product of his environment and upbringing, while Monoma is just a jerk for no reason!"
*insert wrong answer buzzer sound*
Yes, we all know about Bakugo's messed-up life. The whole "being told you're better than others just because you have a strong power" thing would be enough to screw anybody up, and it's clear that his home life is abusive.
Monoma doesn't have as much screentime, so it's easy to think that he doesn't --until you take a closer look. Remember in Season 5, when he told Shinsou he understood what it was like to be told he didn't have the right quirk to become a hero? Clearly his aspirations have been discouraged by others as well.
Also, it’s already been established in the show that children are subject to bullying because of their quirks (Shinsou’s so-called “villainous” quirk comes to mind, as well as Kirishima’s “weak” hardening).
It’s not a big leap to assume that Monoma was similarly mistreated by his peers. In fact, his quirk would make him the perfect target for bullies. It combines the weakness aspect—he depends on others for power—with fear: without proper explanation, his quirk could easily be misunderstood as stealing another person’s power, and in a world where an individual’s identity is so tied up in their unique ability, the act of mimicking it could register as a threat to self, especially in the underdeveloped minds of children.
Therefore, I believe it’s safe to assume that he was a victim of bullying on par with Shinsou’s, or possibly even Midoriya’s treatment. Much like Bakugo, there seems to be a direct connection between his current personality and what we can infer of his past. Could Monoma’s rude, abrasive personality be a defense mechanism, developed in response to years of harassment? It is probable.
And don't try to tell me being karate-chopped into unconsciousness whenever you're being annoying doesn't qualify as physical abuse. We have so many great fics dealing with Bakugou's treatment at the Sports Festival with the seriousness it deserves; why don't we do the same for Monoma? Which brings me to my larger question:
Why is Bakugo a fan-favorite, but not Monoma? (Yes, I'm aware that there are passionate anti-Bakugo advocates who wish him nothing but pain and suffering, but-- while I respect their views, even if I don't share them-- they are the minority.) The majority of the fanbase goes wild over Blastyboy. You could probably figure that out from spending five minutes in the fandom, but I'm gonna offer you some statistics anyways, because I'm a Nerd™.
I'll start with searching some tags on this site, to find out which character people prefer to write about.
TAG- "Bakugo Katsuki-Centric"- 851 works as of 11/8/21. (I searched the centric tag in particular because there are lots of fics where the author tags ALL the characters regardless of how big a role they play in the story, especially chatfics.)
TAG- "Monoma Neito-Centric"- 111 works as of 11/8/21. Ouch.
Alright then, let's take a look at the top suggestions for the "Additional Tags" search field.
Entered words "Bakugo Katsuki":
Bakugo Katsuki Swears A Lot
Bakugo Katsuki is Bad at Feelings
Protective Bakugo Katsuki
Soft Bakugo Katsuki
Pro Hero Bakugo Katsuki
Entered Words "Monoma Neito":
Monoma Neito is a Little Sh*t
Monoma Neito Being An *sshole
Monoma Neito is A Good Friend
Monoma Neito-centric
Monoma Neito is in Class 1-A
Let's look elsewhere, shall we? Like Redbubble, that lovely site where you can purchase stickers, t-shirts, mugs and more printed with designs uploaded by independent artists.
Search for “Bakugo”:
15,588 results
Search for "Monoma":
301 results
Yikes.
Admittedly, this may not be the most accurate representation of popularity. I’m working off of the assumption that people will create and sell art of characters that they like; however, many of the products labelled with one of these boys’ names actually feature completely different characters, such as Kaminari. I believe this is because when tagging their products, people include as many tags as possible, even those only loosely related to the actual art, in an effort to boost visibility.
Even so, the gap is large enough between the two of them that Bakugo would still beat Monoma by a long shot, even if only a tenth of the products tagged with his name had anything to do with him (a quick look at the site proves this is not the case).
Speaking of beating people, Bakugo also consistently outranks the main character in popularity polls—a fact which I find hilarious. In both the US and Japan, the only polls he didn’t dominate were the first ones taken—otherwise he’s at the top in every one. In the most recent Japanese poll, he beat our protagonist by over 6,000 votes! Meanwhile, Monoma wasn’t even in the top fourty, outstripped by Mineta and, for some reason, Horikoshi himself.
Unfortunately for Monoma, fans’ attitudes towards him often goes beyond indifference. Remember the “Monoma Neito Being A Little Sh*t” and “Monoma Neito Being An *sshole” tags? I can’t count the number of fics I’ve read where he’s been cast as the Homophobe/Transphobe For Angst Purposes™, a fate that only seems to fall to one other character—Mineta, who, as we all know, would be fed to rabid wolves if the fans were in charge of the plot.
My question is, why? What went wrong for Monoma? What mysterious force determines whether a character will be popular or not?
Is it screentime? Monoma gets a fraction of Bakugou's screentime, so this seems plausible. But what is that fraction exactly? I took a look at the MHA Wiki to find out.
Bakugo Appearances (NOT including flashbacks):
Season 1: 13/13 Episodes
Season 2: 22/25 Episodes
Season 3: 24/25 Episodes
Season 4: 16/25 Episodes
Season 5: 18/25 Episodes
For a total of: 90/113 Episodes
And
Monoma Appearances (NOT including flashbacks):
Season 1: 0/13 Episodes
Season 2: 10/25 Episodes
Season 3: 7/25 Episodes
Season 4: 3/25 Episodes
Season 5: 11/25 Episodes
For a total of 33/113 Episodes
So Monoma only appears in about a third of the number of episodes Bakugo does. Granted, these numbers don't give us a lot of information, such as how long each appearance is and what exactly qualifies an appearance, but the gap is big enough that it allows for some wiggle room. Much like on Redbubble, even if Monoma appeared twice as long in every episode as Bakugou (which he doesn't) Bakugou would still have more screentime. In all likelihood, Monoma could be just as popular if fans had the opportunity to spend more time with him.
But is that really all?
Is it physical? Is he just not hot enough?? Let's be honest, there's a lot of thirst in this fandom. I’m not going to back that statement up with math—that’s not an internet rabbithole I care to go down—but I’m sure you all know what I’m talking about. Again, you don’t have to be in the fandom very long to figure this out.
However, I’m reluctant to accept this explanation, for the following reasons:
They are equally matched.
The only other possible explanation I can think of is that fans like the “bad boy” aspect of Bakugo’s character. As incorrigibly rude as Monoma is capable of being, he does lack Bakugou’s particular prickliness. Ignoring the ever-popular “Softugou” of AO3 fame, and focusing solely on canon, this is where the two distinguish themselves from one another.
Unlike Bakugou, we have not yet heard Monoma swear.
Bakugou has one solidly canon friend (this friend being Kirishima. Look, I love the Bakusquad as much as the next nerd, but there isn’t exactly indisputable canon evidence for it), while his main character development for the entirety of the show has been slowly shifting his view of his peers from “the dirt I walk on” to, y’know, peers. Meanwhile, Monoma’s self-declared feud against class 1-A holds equal parts hostility for his enemy, and affection for those he considers his own. This is especially noticeable in the joint-training arc. All throughout this arc, he’s cheering his classmates on, wholeheartedly believing in them and their ability to beat 1-A. Honestly, this confidence boost is probably much-needed by 1-B, since they’re constantly being outshined by their sister class. Even when they eventually lose, this failure doesn’t faze him. His trust and respect for his class doesn’t falter; he’s eager for them to prove themselves in a rematch.
Even his character design is less aggressive. While they may both be blond, neat hair and grey eyes don’t evoke the same sense of delinquency as a spiky style and red.
All in all, while the two may have a few fundamental similarities, the details of their personalities differ enough to make one more appealing to fans.
For Bakugou, this means that his entire character can be boiled down to one popular trope: the Bad Boy™. What exactly is a Bad Boy™? I’m so glad you asked.
Writeonsisters.com, a website devoted to “straight talk from the sisters about blood, sweat, and ink” has a listicle titled “Tips to Write ‘Bad Boys in Books’”, which gives the most in-depth analysis I can find. Shall we go down the list, to see how Bakugou measures up? I think we shall.
1: “A bad boy exudes confidence.”
I was prepared justify why he does or does not match every item on this list, but this one is glaringly obvious. Seriously, you could watch this show out of order, upside down, and with the sound off and still figure this one out. I’m just gonna write “check.”
2: “A bad boy allows his interests to take precedence.”
Hm. Hmmmm. I’m torn on this one. On the one hand, he is often selfish. He prefers to do whatever he wants, often at the expense of other people’s feelings. The incident at the Sports Festival, when he misused his position as the student spokesperson to predict himself as the winner, is a good example. But on the other hand, he’s working to become a hero, a person who will put his life on the line to keep other people safe. If he was entirely self-centered, wouldn’t he set his sights on being the greatest villain, instead of the greatest hero?
3: “A bad boy is a moody charmer.”
Well, he’s got the “moody” part alright. “Charmer” is more of a subjective term. Sure, some people find him charming, but that’s just a matter of taste. I’ll give him half a point for this one.
4: “A bad boy is riddled with paradoxes making him hard to understand.”
“His behaviour in class is terrible, but he earns top-notch grades! He’ll punch you in the face, but he’ll pay you back for something he broke! He acts like he’s the best, but blames himself for things that aren’t his fault (see the ‘I destroyed All Might’ incident)!” Nearly all fans agree, this boy’s a walking bundle of contradictions. Remember this one for later, folks. It’s going to be important.
5: “A bad boy has an edge to him.”
Check.
6: “A bad boy displays an attitude.”
Checkity check check.
7: “A bad boy is a rebel with or without a cause.”
Another half-point. Like I said before, he’s rude, uncooperative, etc. etc., but at the end of the day, he’s one of the good guys, and he listens to authority when it counts.
8: “A bad boy is mysterious, complex, and complicated.”
And there you have it, folks, the central appeal of Bakugou’s character. The reason he’s fun to write, to read, and what gives him a leg up over Midoriya. People like complexity, and while Midoriya is often slammed by fans for being one-dimensional (AKA a cinnamon roll, inside and out), Bakugou has nuance in spades. In canon, we have fun analyzing his, and in fanon, we enjoy extrapolating on his softer, more vulnerable side— the only ever catch glimpses of in canon, making it even more fascinating.
Alright. Now that we’ve thoroughly established that Bakugou is great, and why, let’s see how his counterpart compares. Is Monoma a Bad Boy™ too?
1: “A bad boy exudes confidence.”
Check!
2: “A bad boy allows his interests to take precedence.”
This one doesn’t really apply to him; I’ll come back to it later.
3: “A bad boy is a moody charmer.”
I’ll give him the same score as Bakugou for this one, albeit for the opposite reason. While he would be better described as “eccentric” than “moody”, his preppish appearance definitely lends it self better to the traditional idea of a charming person.
4: “A bad boy is riddled with paradoxes making him hard to understand.”
He is! With hysterical laughter and childlike gloating, he can make a fool of himself one minute, but speak eloquently and fight skillfully the next. He can turn from supporting his classmates to taunting his enemies at the drop of the hat. Sadly,
5: “A bad boy has an edge to him.”
He definitely has an edge when it come to 1-A! However, he doesn’t harbor the same distaste for anyone else. Monoma’s like a knife: sharp on one side, dull on the other. I guess Bakugou would be like a double knife then.
6: “A bad boy displays an attitude.”
“Attitude” is his middle name.
7: “A bad boy is a rebel with or without a cause.”
He’s definitely a rebel, maybe even more so than Bakugou! While he lacks the classically rough ‘n tough rebel exterior, he definitely has a cause. His greatest enemy is the status quo. Isn’t everything he does, even the things that make him unliked, an attempt to even the playing field? 1-A hogs the spotlight, both in school events like the Sports Festival and in the field, and Monoma is determined to change this, for better or worse. This is also the reason why I don’t consider him to be selfish. While he often seems to act selfish and disregarding of others, these actions are in pursuit of a higher goal: to better the situation of his class.
8: “A bad boy is mysterious, complex, and complicated.”
Well he definitely could be, if anybody took the time to notice! That’s the thing that makes me sad.
Believe it or not, I wasn’t a Monoma fan when I sat down to write this. Not that I hated him; like many fans, I just didn’t think about him, the same way nobody thinks about that mushroom girl from 1B. (Kinoko Kinori, google tells me. And apparently some people do think about her, so if you are one of the ten artists drawing fanart of her, my apologies.)
But that’s all changed. I’m not sure what I did to deserve this revelation; all I know is that on that fateful night, standing dripping wet on that cold, cold tile, I was blessed with this insight. And now, I am here to share it.
Please, friends, I entreat you: turn away from the darkness, and accept Monoma into your hearts.
We have a wonderful, complex, and unique character in this story. So why are we rejecting him? Why do we squander this opportunity to do what we do best: analyzing, admiring, and, let’s be honest, obsessing over a character? Because we don’t see him as often? Because his presentation is ever so slightly more subtle? He’s similar to Bakugou, the most beloved character in the entire series—but at the same time, different! There’s a whole world of possibility for Monoma, so aren’t we exploring it? Southern preacher voice: why? Why? Why? Whhhy? WhY?
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpxDl68brww)
The good news is, it doesn’t have to be this way. Fandoms are, by definition, shaped by the fans! We can make the fan content we want to see, we can give the characters we care about attention. Be the change you want to see in the world! Draw that fanart! Write those fics! Heck, just scribble down some headcanons! I believe in you, as well as Monoma!
(And when you do, kindly let me know—I would love to see it! Thank you!)